ACTION ALERT!  C.A.R.E. Needs Your Proposal!

AAM’s 2000 meeting in Baltimore is only a few weeks behind us but it’s 
already time to start thinking about the 2001 meeting in St. Louis.  The 
theme, "The Spirit of Community," will explore challenging questions such as
· What constitutes a community in the 21st century?
· What role do museums play in defining, preserving, and enriching 
communities?
· How can museums cooperate and collaborate with other community 
organizations?
· How can we measure success in developing and serving communities?
Audience related issues are always an important part of the dialogue at AAM 
annual meetings; given the focus on community, they’ll be especially 
important in St. Louis!

June 30 is the deadline for proposals that are sponsored by AAM’s Standing 
Professional Committees.  There are several benefits to SPC sponsorship.  
CARE, the Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation, can help you by 
· identifying cutting edge issues
· serving as a resource for potential speakers
· providing peer review for developing and strengthening proposals
· co-sponsoring sessions with other SPCs to increase chances of acceptance
When you send your proposal to me I will pass it on to a team of experienced 
CARE members who will review it.  Then, in late July, I will go to 
Washington, D.C. with Mary Korenic, CARE Chair, to lobby for the best 
proposals.

Proposing a session takes time and thought, but it’s not difficult.  This 
year there’s a new, user friendly Program Proposal form that incorporates 
several changes:
· To encourage cross functional thinking, programs will no longer be 
categorized according to disciplines, e.g., audience research and evaluation, 
media and technology,  or education.  Instead, each program must address one 
or more of the following strategic areas: administration, collections 
stewardship, communications, ethics/legal issues, globalization, governance, 
interpretation, leadership, mission, planning, public accountability, 
technology.
· To make the format as interesting as the content, presenters are encouraged 
to consider different approaches to their themes.  In addition to the 
familiar panel discussion, there are several new options: case studies, 
forums, point/counterpoint discussions, poster sessions, role playing 
exercises.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear some visitors speaking in 
visitor studies sessions?
· To focus on learning outcomes, all proposals must describe what attendees 
will learn or be able to do after attending the session.

The new and improved Program Proposal form is readily available in several 
ways:
· on-line at www.aam-us.org/proposal2001.htm
· phone AAM at 202-289-9133 and ask for a printed form, disk, or e-mail 
version
· forms were included in registration packets from the Baltimore meeting
All speakers must be confirmed prior to submitting a proposal.  If you need a 
panelist to round out your topic or if you’re a panelist who needs a chair, 
help is available.  AAM has set up a list serve to help you connect with 
other speakers.  You can access it at: annualmeeting2001.listbot.com.  Also, 
feel free to call me at 616-846-0478, e-mail at [log in to unmask] or fax at 
616-846-0563.  

Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you in St. Louis.

Daryl Fischer
CARE Program Chair

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